Crazy Love
by That1SlytherinGirl
Summary: If the argument between Alex and Norma in 3x09 "Crazy" had ended without the cold rejection it would have opened up both of them to the possibilities of where their relationship will go. Follow Normero after the season 3 finale.
1. Crazy

**_Disclaimer; Most of this chapter is taken from the show. I make no money from this story and do it for entertainment purposes only. I do not own any of the characters involved in this chapter and do not own the story line taking place. They belong to A &E. Any additional dialogue is made up entirely from my own imagination. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy!_**

 _ **ALSO; Instead of Caleb seeing Norma after she gets home, I'm changing it to she came to Romero's house after Caleb saw her.**_

* * *

Alex got out of his truck and walked to his front door. As he approached the porch he noticed someone had broken the window on his front door, more than likely to let themselves in. His guard immediately went up and he pulled out his gun, cautiously approaching the door. His first thought was Bob Paris; actually it was his only thought. The Sheriff slowly opened the door to step inside, continuing to point his gun as he took in the condition of the house. By the objects out of place it looked like someone had been looking for the flash dr-. His heart stopped at the sound of rustling from further inside and he knew the person was still there. Swiftly, Romero moves towards the room but stopped when he saw the blonde woman before him. "You've got to be kidding me."

Norma turned around from the desk she was rummaging through with a picture frame in her hand, looking at him as if she was disgusted with his very existence. "My son isn't going to prison because some rich, perverted, asshole killed two woman. He doesn't deserve to be dragged into this." She put the frame back on the desk and started walking towards him, "And put your damn gun down. Like you're going to shoot me?'" she scoffed as she passed him, "That'll be the day."

"I hate you." He responded cruelly as he lowered his weapon.

She stilled, "Yeah, I hate you too. So what?" Norma turned her back to him and began looking through items on the cough

Her tone cut him like a shard of glass, how was this so meaningless to her? Did she truly feel nothing for him? He watched in disbelief as she searched through more of his belongings until she finally grew too frustrated to carry on.

"Where is it?" She refused to face him, knowing it would only add to the hurt from his betrayal. She didn't want to look at him if she didn't have to. "Where is this stupid piece of computer gear that's ruining my life?"

"I turned it over to the D.A." he wasted no time in responding as he shoved his gun into it's holster.

She whipped around, her voice lowered, "You did what?" More betrayal. Why would he do this to her? Her mind went racing so fast she didn't even hear his response. "How could you do this to me? Bob Paris will investigate my husband's death just to get back at me." Her breathing quickened, "I'm screwed!" Her voice rose with her anger, "I'm totally screwed! How could you do this to me?!" That was it, she was done with him. How could he throw her under the bus like this after everything? Norma began to storm out, but she didn't make it passed him.

Alex had had enough, he was completely fed up with this woman and her selfish behavior. She cared of no one but herself and her disturbed son. He gripped her forearm and yanked her back, ignoring her small whimper as he pinned her to the wall. His anger was getting the better on him and he knew it, but once he had her, an abundance of emotions started coursing through him, one of which was lust. There was something bothering him more than her breaking into his home and going through his belongings. "Why did you lie to me?" He asked gruffly. His breathing was heavy, matching hers.

Her eyes locked with his as she continued on with the charade that had been going on for years, "I didn't lie to you!"

Before she could completely finish he went off, "Oh come on! You know your husband didn't die in an accident!" His grip tightened on her arms as he lightly shook her, raising his voice over her protests. "You know it and I know it!" She finally fell silent, but the look on her face told him he wasn't getting through to her like he had hoped to do. "So tell me the truth. For once in your life just tell me the truth, Norma."

The woman stayed quiet, the only sound in the room was their breathing. For a fleeting moment she considered telling him, giving it all up. However, the right words would't come out. "I did it, I killed him."

Another lie, he knew she had nothing to do with it and his patience was wearing thin, "Oh come on!" He was yelling now. All he wanted was the truth from her. Not from anyone else, just her. "The truth!"

"He was abusive! He was hitting me and I hit him in the head with a blender! I didn't mean to kill him, but I did!" Norma spit out on the fly. It was half truth, why couldn't that be enough for him? Norman had been trying to save her, now she had to protect him. "I dragged his body into the garage and made it look like an accident!" She saw the hurt in his eyes and it killed her to do this to him, but she had to. Every person that knew about Norman had used it against them.

"JUST STOP LYING TO ME!" He screamed and pressed her further into the wall, losing all control.

She did, she had to stop. Tears poured down her cheeks as she began to sob, Norma didn't want to do this anymore. She and Alex were supposed to be friends, they were supposed to be there for each other. For a time they were, and it was great. Now this is what it had come down to and it was because of her lies. "You know the truth, don't make me say it." The crying woman barley managed to get that out. Alex's grip loosened, and suddenly Norma realized what she had just done; what her feelings for him had made her do. Something inside her snapped, she had just given up her son to this man because of her feelings for him. Naturally, she punched him.

Alex could see the change in her in her eyes, he had seen it before and he knew what he was in for. He stepped back as she continued to hit him, but allowed her to get out what had been bottled up inside for so long. Eventually it wasn't just anger for the situation at hand that fueled Norma's punches, it was her anger for everyone that had hurt her in her life. "I hate you! I hate you!" She screeched, and that is when he knew enough was enough. He grabbed her hands and restrained her against the wall as she struggled against him. Her arms were held above her head and she finally gave in, too tired to fight. Alex looked at her, almost in horror at how this had turned out. She looked so broken, and all he wanted to do was fix this, help her. He let go of her wrists and cupped her face, leaning his forehead against hers.

Norma continued to cry, but momentarily leaned in to him. Part of her wanted this more than anything. He was a great comfort for her, she had felt so safe being this close to him. It was too good to be true, she told herself. She had the worst luck in men, and he had just handed over the flash drive she needed. "Don't touch me." It was an unconvincing whimper, but it's what she had to say. If she said it enough, she could convince herself she didn't actually want this. Alex stayed close, but dropped his hands. His face was just centimeters away from her and it made everything so hard. "Don't you touch me." She said, far more convincing this time. She removed herself from the space she had been fenced into and started to walk towards the door.

"Norma, please." He said as he leaned against the wall, tuning to face her. She stopped and he let out a breath, "I'm sorry I didn't protect you."

She turned around, "You protected yourself." she stated harshly. "Without that flash drive I'm done! Bob Paris is going to burry me in that hole outside my motel."

"No, he's not. Nothing is going to happen to you now." His voice was stern, "I didn't protect you then, but I will now." He meant it, even if he had to put a bullet through Paris himself.

"I'm done talking about this, Alex!" Norma turned back towards the door and was on the porch when Alex went after her and grabbed her hand. She turned back and was about to rip herself from his grasp when the look in his eyes stopped her.

"I _will_ protect you." He pulled her closer, caressing her cheek with his free hand.

Norma stayed close, the genuine look in his eyes won her over and if anything, just this once she would allow herself to enjoy this moment with him. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer.

Shock hit Alex first, she hadn't responded to him like this yet and he was starting to think it would never happen. He brought both his hands up to cup her face as he respond, deepening the kiss.

Their hearts raced as they continued to press their bodies against each other, but it was he who finally broke the kiss. They stood breathlessly, looking at each other intently as if to see what the next move was. "I should get home." Norma whispered. He was about to protest when she interrupted him, "I'll see you soon, okay?"

He didn't want her to go, but he didn't want to push her either. With a simple nod he let her leave, watching her from the porch until she had driven away.

As Norma drove down the road her mind raced with what had happened in the last few hours. She pulled over when she remembered her conversation about Norman that Caleb had started. Fear filled her, Norman was getting worse and it was terrifying. It would soon be impossible to keep this "in the family" as people would put it. There had to be a place he could go for help, especially if what Caleb and Dylan had said are true; Norman thought he was her during blackouts.

The whole idea of it sent chills down her spine, but this time with Romero had made her forget about what was wrong. When they kissed it felt like everything wrong in her life was gone, it was just them. It was a dangerous feeling and she had to be careful. She couldn't forget get her priorities jostled around.

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 **Thank you for reading, please review and let me know if I have any typos and where they are so I can fix them. Constructive criticism is welcome, I haven't written a fanfiction in a while and I'm a bit rusty.**


	2. Unconscious- Part 1

**_Disclaimer; Most of this chapter is taken from the show. I make no money from this story and do it for entertainment purposes only. I do not own any of the characters involved in this chapter and do not own the story line taking place. They belong to A &E. Any additional dialogue is made up entirely from my own imagination. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy!_**

 ** _Side note: I changed the rating to T for now, it may (Probably will) change back to M. In which case, I'll let you know at the beginning of the chapter just as I'm doing now._**

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Alex hit his alarm clock as soon as it sounded, he had been awake for several hours now but had tried to pretend otherwise. He sat up and stayed on the edge of the bed for a while before walking into the bathroom and washing his face. He didn't regret handing over that flash drive, but something had been driving him crazy all night, the lack of protection he had provided for Norma Bates thus far. The woman was crazy, there was no denying it, but there was something about the insanity he found so appealing and was now unable to deny it. She was completely vulnerable in this town and any leverage she had once had, he threw away. Regardless of how right it was, she was screwed, just as she had said last night.

There had to be something he could do to help her and whatever it was, he'd do it.

After a quick shower he put his uniform on and was out the door. The drive to the police station was the longest one he had had yet, is mind focused on one thing only, just as it had been all night. Bob Paris was right about Norman, if he was having blackouts and becoming violent was anyone safe around him? Sure, Alex could believe Norma was with an abusive man and Norman interfering. However, if blackouts were involved that would account for Blair Watson's murder. He passed the lie detector test because he didn't know what he had done. There was something wrong with Norman and from afar he seemed to be growing more unstable by the month, who knew what those closer to him were seeing in his behavior.

The Sheriff pulled into the police station and went inside. As he walked to the briefing room where he knew FBI agents, as well as members of the station, were meeting to discuss the plans regarding Bob Paris. He took his phone out of his pocket to turn it off before going in. Normally he wouldn't bother with that, but today the DEA was probably planning something regarding Bob, and Alex didn't want to be interrupted. After the way his last meeting with the the special agent went, he wanted to make sure he had his complete focus on the task at hand. He needed to know exactly what to do to protect Norma and he didn't want anyone thinking he wasn't serious about his job.

* * *

 _"No one's ever going to help us, Norman. No one's ever helped us."_

Norma laid in bed long after she awoke, just thinking about that statement. She had made it the night Keith Summers had raped her as she and Norman carried his dead body out to Room 4. Now the woman that had once believed it wholeheartedly wondered if it had ever been true at all. Alex _had_ helped her numerous times, but had never really asked for anything in return. He was one of the only men in her life that hadn't pushed her to have sex in exchange for everything he had done for her, Dylan, and/or Norman. Alex Romero was a good man, too good for her.

With a heavy sigh, Norma got herself out of bed a put on her robe, heading downstairs for a cup of coffee. She exited the kitchen with her mug and saw Dylan staring at the Guitar she had laid out for him the night before. He looked at her, then back at the guitar, "Where did this come from?"

"Caleb left it for you." She replied, resting her hands on her warm coffee mug.

He looked back at her, "He didn't say why?"

"No, he just said 'give this to Dylan' and I didn't ask him to explain it." Norma said quietly. As much as she despised Caleb, he was Dylan's father. Dylan was sure to feel completely abandoned, and for good reason. His father had just left him.

Dylan gave a small scoff and continued in disbelief, "After all that shit…"

"People are generally disappointing, honey, they can't help it. You can't let it kill you." It came out a little harsher than she had originally intended, but that seemed to be how things always came out lately.

"Yeah, okay," He was clearly bothered by the whole situation. Norma laid a hand on the back of the chair in front of her and looked down, sympathy hitting her, but leaving as soon as it came.

She and Dylan had yet to finish talking about Norman and what needed to be done, but she had finally come to some conclusion. Dylan had been right all along, Norman really needed to get some help. She momentarily glanced at him as she took a step forward with a heavy sigh, "I'm going to look at this Pine View place today."

"What's that?" Her change in demeanor told him it has something to do with his brother, but knowing Norma it could have nothing to do with the mental illness growing much worse very quickly.

"It's this place that can help people with mental issues." His look of surprise followed with a small "okay" told her Dylan had thought she'd never make this step and was shocked in hearing she was making progress in accepting the severity of the situation. Honestly, she didn't think she could do this, either. Just going to /Look/ at a mental health facility was taking a huge leap. "It's a bit of a drive so i'm just going to get dressed and head out." He didn't say anything, but allowed her to kiss his cheek and head back upstairs.

Dylan stayed put as his brain processed what he had woken up to this morning. Caleb was gone and Norma was finally looking into outside professional help for Norman. Assuming she was telling the truth, anyway. After pulling himself out of his thoughts, he headed to his truck and began his drive to the farm; He had to see for himself that Caleb was gone.

Norma got to her room and set her coffee down on the nightstand. After a moment of fighting with herself she picked up her phone and called Alex. As she dialed she got increasingly more nervous with each number, why though, she wasn't sure. After placing the phone to her ear and waiting only a few seconds, her nerves turned out to be for no reason. It had gone straight to voicemail. Annoyed, she tossed her phone onto the bed and started to get ready. She wasn't even sure why she bothered to called him in the first place, it's not like he could go with her to Pine View.

On her way out, Norma stopped outside Norman's room and rested her head on the frame of the door and watched him sleep. How could this have become their reality? Asleep, he looked so normal and calm. How could the sweet boy she knew and loved also be this mentally ill young man with more anger than he seemed to know what to do with? She shouldn't have waited so long to search for help, but she thought keeping this a secret _was_ helping him. Norma pushed herself off the door frame and continued on her way out. Hopefully everything would go well and this place would be the right one for Norman.

How would he even react to this? Would he go? It's not like she could force him to, he wasn't a child anymore.

* * *

Norman walked out of the hour with a plate that held a banana and a sandwich for Bradley's lunch. As he approached the hotel he looked around suspiciously to make sure no one was watching. Even though it seemed he was the only one on the property at the time, Mother, Dylan, or Emma could drive up at any time. It would be rather odd for them to see Norman taking a plate of food into one of the motel rooms.

As he drew closer to room 11 he pulled the key out of his pocket, then knocked on the door. With no response from it's residence he let himself in and looked around the empty room. "Bradley?" He called as he closed the door behind him. The bathroom door was open and he could feel a breeze flowing through the room. He entered and saw the window was wide open with no sign of the brunette, she was gone.

He stared at the window for what he thought was only a second, where had Bradley gone? Surely she'd be back. Wouldn't she? If she didn't come back it wouldn't be the first time she had disappointed him. He was pulled out of his mind when he heard a car pull up. He set the plate down on the edge of the bathtub and closed the window, seeing the sheriff's van outside as his did so. As he turned turned away from the now closed window he noticed his face was cold, he had to have been standing in the room for longer than he had thought.

This was all just more irritants to weigh down his already sinking mood. What did Romero want? You could never know with him, so Norman might as well get this over with.

"Norman." Romero greeted the young man as they approached each other.

"Sheriff." He replied as he put his hands in his pockets, "What brings you out here?" He was about to ask if Romero wanted to speak to his mother, but then he remembered he hadn't seen Norma all morning, "Is there something wrong?" Concern in his voice was evident.

"No, nothing's wrong." He said as his eyes scanned the property. "I was just stopping by, your mom called me earlier but when I returned her call she didn't answer. I figured since I was heading out here anyway i'd stop by." He really hadn't been on his way out here, in fact Bates Motel was nearly always out of his way. By the look on Norman's face the young man seemed to suspect just as much.

"That's kind of you." He sounded more annoyed than anything, about what exactly Alex didn't know. "I'll be sure to tell her you stopped by when she gets home."

"Alright." He said as he studied Norman's face. "Thanks." He walked back towards the van as Norman headed back to the Motel office. As Alex pulled away he looked in his rear view mirror and could have sworn he saw Norman watching him leave from his seat inside. The Sheriff drove back to the police station feeling slightly unnerved, but told himself it was just because of this new piece of information he had discovered about Norman. In the back of his mind the death of Norma's husband has always been a question, popping up every now and then. However, in recent months he always said to himself Norma had told the truth about what happened, even if he didn't entirely believe it. He pulled into the police station and looked at the clock on his dash. 1:48 pm. In just under eight hours Bob Paris's house would be filled with federal day had been nothing but internal battles for Alex. He knew what the right thing to do about Bob Paris was, but would it bring justice to the two women he had killed? And also, and more importantly (though he wouldn't admit it) would it be safe for Norma?

* * *

Norma arrived back at home feeling a little discouraged. There was no way she could afford treatment like what Pine View had to offer all on her own. With some luck, insurance may be able to help but there was a good chance it still wouldn't be enough. She gathered together the papers she had tossed into the passenger seat and slid them into the Pine View folder. As she slipped the folder into her bag she noticed her phone in the cup holder, she had completely forgotten to check it after walking out of the facility. Two missed calls from Alex. Norma hit the redial button as she got out of the car, but no answer.

After her brisk walk into the house she laid her bag on the first table she could find, opened the folder, and quickly skimmed the brochure. Norma heard the door open and put the paperwork down, moving her bag on top of it.

"Hi, Mom." Norman said as he entered the house, sounding a little out of breath.

"Hi." She tried to match his tone as she continued to hastily repositioned her belongings, not wanting him to see the Pine View folder.

"Where have you been? Sheriff Romero came by looking for you."

"Did he? I was just running some errands." Norma didn't have time to think about Alex right now, this conversation with Norman was more pressing. She turned to face him, looking at him questioningly when he fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt, "Where were _you_?"

"Just down at the office," He said with a deep breath, slipping his hands into his pockets, "I just ran up the stairs just because.. I just felt like it." Norman gave a nervous chuckle and forced a smile, He didn't want to come off as looking guilty of something even though he had every reason to. Bradley had returned and was dead set on the two of them leaving tonight. His mother didn't seem to notice anything odd, and if she did it wasn't on her mind.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" He only gave a small nod in response, but she accepted it gladly. "Okay, come on." With a smile she gestured for him to follow her into the main room of the house. The blonde was clearly nervous as she sat on the couch and rested her head on her hand, leaning on the back of the seat. He took a seat next to her, getting nervous himself. If she had seen Bradley or was suspicious of anything going on she wouldn't respond like this, there would be much more anger. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if this had anything to do with what he had been up to behind her back. She kept her gaze tight on him as she spoke, "I'm worried about you."

"I know." He responded almost immediately.

She nodded but continued, taking his hand in hers "I mean, the blackouts are getting worse."

"Yeah, but we have it under control." He tried to reassure her in his tone but also gave her hand a small squeeze, "I don't go to school anymore, I don't drive. I'm mostly here."

"I know, but I think that you need help." She said a bit more seriously, using both hands to hold his one. "Help that I cannot give you."

He was starting to understand how serious this was, but tried to remain calm, "What sort of help?" he couldn't help but roll his eyes at his next thought, "You don't mean like James."

"No, no. That was stupid." She tried to play it off like a joke but what had happened to James after his "session" with Norman was too serious to make fun of in the right state of mind. "That was just grasping at straws." She paused and continued in a more grave manner, "I mean real doctors." Norman's expressions changed, fully comprehending where this was going. "I'm not always going to be in this world, Norman." She seemed to struggle with her words, "You're going to outlive me, and I want you to be safe." She didn't seem to see the anger starting to rise within her son as she continued, "There's things we can do, There's therapy, there's medications, you know. I mean we never really looked into it. I think it's... it's something I've been very scared to do." She tore her gaze from him as tears began to form in her eyes. "But I am more scared not to." She gave him a chance to speak, but he had yet to give a verbal response, "These places can help us."

" _Places?_ "

"It's not like that, Norman. These places aren't terrible. They're actually very pretty." She seemed a little more encouraged when he hadn't immediately shut her down. "Very nice."

"Wait- you've been to one?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"That's where I went today." She confessed. The long silence he gave caused her to become anxious again.

Finally he spoke and by the look in his eyes he was less than thrilled, "I'm glad that we had this talk of yours. I see where we stand; you've given up on me." He pulled his hand from her grasp and stood, walking towards the hallway.

"That is not true," She stood and followed him, "Norman. It's exactly the opposite! I am trying to help you!" She stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at him as he marched towards him room. "Norman!" She called but he didn't make any indication that he had even heard her. Norma placed her hands on her stomach; she felt physically sick by the way this had turned out.

The phone rang and Norma walked over to the desk in the hall and fished it out of her bag. It was Alex, but instead of answering it she put it back into her bag and went down to the motel office, sure to grab the Pine View folder and take it with her. She sat at the desk and finished up leftover paper work Emma hadn't finished the day before, then began making calls to the insurance company. Before she knew it, it was close to 8pm and time to head back to the house.

She left the office and locked the door behind her, stopping to look at the motel sign. So much was going on between Bob and Norman, she didn't know what she was more concerned about. If something happened to her because of Bob Paris what would happen to Norman, or vise versa. Life would be so much easier if she didn't have all of this weight on her shoulders.

Just then Norma heard tires rolling along the pavement, headlights shining on her sun rays. She turned her head to see Alex pulling up and just then she felt some of that weight had lifted. The way they had left things the previous night, plus missing each other's calls all day made this meeting feel a little awkward, but she was glad to have him there nonetheless. She took a step off the porch as he got out of the Sheriff van.

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 _ **This chapter was cut short, I was putting pressure on myself to get this chapter/episode up and it was eating my muse. I figured I should just put up what I have and that would ease some of the stress I was putting myself under. The rest of the episode will be up more than likely by next weekend.**_ _ **Thanks for all the positive reviews and words of encouragement, it's greatly appreciated.**_


	3. Unconscious- Part 2

**_Disclaimer; Most of this chapter is taken from the show. I make no money from this story and do it for entertainment purposes only. I do not own any of the characters involved in this chapter and do not own the storyline taking place, i'm just messing with what the show has done, and if it's on the show A &E owns it. Any additional dialogue is made up entirely from my own imagination. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy!_**

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Alex saw the look in her eyes that told him her day had been just as difficult as his. He stepped forward, but wasn't sure how close was too close or how far was too far. When there was about two feet of distance between them, he stopped. "I wanted you to know that I meant what I said last night. I _am_ going to protect you from Bob Paris."

She seemed to be a little more at ease with that statement, finally starting to have a little faith in him. Every time he had said he'd take care of something he kept his word. However, she knew there was a chance that this was the one time he'd fail to deliver on his promise; not to any fault of his own. The man was clearly working himself up over this, "Thank you for coming by and telling me that." She said earnestly.

He took a deep breath and held her gaze, as he continued it would get more difficult for him to get the right words out. He wasn't used to allowing himself to be this vulnerable, "I'm with you in this, alright? The only thing I need from you is the truth... I wish things were different, but this is where we are now."

Norma understood and gave a small nod. The logical part of Norma told her there was no doubt that the man in front of her was genuine, the lustful part of her said "let him into your life and don't let him leave.", but the part of her that was still very much an abused little girl said "lie your way through whatever relationship this is, whether it be friendship or something more." The little girl that had been so powerless and was now seeking control in her life by only letting people know what she wanted them to had been the one running her for so long, and this is where it had gotten her. She was starting to lean towards the more logical voice in her head, at least for tonight. She was too tired to muster up the energy it took to sound convincing during the lying process. "This isn't your fault, Alex. It's bigger than us. It's my fault anyway, I tried to hide it. I tried to hide everything..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes moved away from him, almost as if she was too ashamed to look at him. "But now it's coming out and it's just too much to shove away." Her chest began to tighten and she felt him step closer. Finally she looked back to him, holding his gaze. "I'm not going to lie, I'm so scared. He's my son and he's broken." She felt tears roll down her cheeks but before she could make any movement to wipe them off Alex's hand came up and brushed the tears away.

He felt his shoulders tighten as he made this kind gesture, mostly because he was a little uncomfortable comforting anyone. On top of that, touching Norma anywhere made him nervous.

She spoke again, the sound of heartbreak in her voice was like a piece of glass cutting his chest open, "He is the dearest boy that ever lived and I just couldn't bear it if Bob Paris has this thing investigated, if they take him away, if they put him in prison just for defending me. It _will_ kill me." She took a deep breath to try and compose herself before continuing once again, "You know, in some ways I don't even care anymore. Maybe fate wins here." He watched her face as she spoke, she looked so hopeless, "We're all doomed in the end, right?"

After taking a moment to realize what she had just said he couldn't help but smirk despite himself, what a Norma thing to say. "Yeah, maybe." He thought about it a little more, "Probably."

For a split second it looked like she was about to smile, then the reality of how screwed up everything was hit her again. Tears spilled out of her eyes once more and there he was once again to stop them in their tracks. "Why are you doing this for me?"

Alex felt his body stiffen more than it already had. He hadn't expected her to ask, honestly he thought it was too obvious. "Because I care." That was the basic, short version.

Since the day she came to his house, asking him to take her to Bob, something inside him changed when it came to how he felt about Norma Bates. He'd had feelings for her before then, but that was when they took a turn for the worst... or the best, depending on how you look at it. She'd recounted all the things the people in this town had done to her since the first night she'd arrived, some of which she had kept from him even after swearing she told the truth. Specifically the Keith Summers incident. The night of Shelby's death when Norma told the "whole truth" about what had happened with Keith, Shelby, and the trafficking victim Shelby had kept, she just happened to leave out the fact that she had been raped by Summers the night she moved in. _Hours_ before he first encountered her. Norma gave him the impression he broke in and threatened them, then physically attacked Norman. Not that he had succeeded in actually physically and psychologically harming her in the worst way possible. She had acted like it never happened that night, like she hadn't been victimized. She survived by doing what she had to, and then some. It made his blood boil and his stomach turn thinking about what else she had to go through to make that seem like an easy task. Norma has survived on her own for far too long, it was something he admired about her. Now he wanted to take the burden of single handedly clawing through life alone just to get by away from her. He cupped her cheek, running his thumb along her jawline, "Because you do too much by yourself."

It was one of those cliche times when a woman hears just the right thing at the right time and it completely sweeps them off their feet, and she knew it. Right now, she didn't care. His words felt all too true after the day she had just had. Heck, after the life she's had. Norma closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. Romero wasted no time in enclosing her waist in his arms as he pulled her body closer. She deepened the kiss by sliding an arm around his neck and standing on her toes, it was like she couldn't get enough of him if she tried.

They were interrupted by the alarm on Alex's phone that told him he needed to start driving to Bob Paris's house. He broke the kiss and released her as he pulled his phone out, trying to let his breath catch up to him. Of all the times for Bob Paris to get in the way _again_. "I need to go."

Norma took a step back and gathered herself. "Alright..." she said quietly, mentally scolding herself for letting this happen. There was no denying that she was attracted to him to say the least, it wasn't that she didn't _want_ to be out here with him. It was that she never knew when Alex was going to turn into Sheriff Romero, and Sheriff Romero wasn't someone Norma could be with when she had a son like Norman. "Thank you very much for stopping by."

He looked disappointed but nodded in response, "Goodnight, Norma." He took a step back towards the van, "Try not to worry about Bob Paris tonight, alright?" He said when she looked back at him. "I'll take care of it." This time he had with Norma seemed to really put things in perspective... or take them out of perspective. But it didn't matter, he knew what he _wanted_ to do about Bob.

"Goodnight, Alex." She said before going back to the house feeling surprisingly at ease. At some point between now and when Alex had gotten out of the van the tension building up inside her had been released.

When she got inside the first thing she thought to do was check on Norman. She went up the stairs and heard noises as she got closer to his door, peaking her curiosity. She placed her hand on the doorknob, "Norman." She didn't wait for a response before opening the door, "What's going on?" she asked calmly as he practically threw himself on the bed in the sitting position.

"Nothing." He looked beyond guilty. He saw her gaze move under the bed and he tapped the suitcase further back with his foot as if pushing it out of her sight would make her forget she saw it.

She gave him a knowing look and asked quietly, "What are you doing?"

"I am leaving." He said, finally giving up the innocent act and standing, retrieving his things from under the bed.

"Okay, where are you going all by yourself?" She took a step into the room, watching him as he put the suitcase on the top of the bed.

"Why do you assume that i'm going all by myself?" He started to get upset with her, did she really think him so pathetic as to run away on his own, like no one would want to be with him? He moved to his dresser and started retrieving his clothes.

"Where are you going?" She said more forcefully, not wanting to play these stupid games. "Who are you going with?"

"Can you please stop talking to me like i'm insane?" He yanked some clothed out of the drawers and walked back to the suit case.

"Calm down." She watched him throw the clothes into the luggage and then go back for more.

"Maybe if you get the mental institution on the phone they can get here early!" His anger flared as he pulled some pants out of his wardrobe.

"Norman." She started to try and reason with him, but there was no reasoning with someone like this.

"Mother this may be hard to believe," He started as he pulled the pants off the hanger and stuffed them into the suitcase, "but I don't need you." Norma watched her son from her spot by the door, burned by his words, "In many ways I think we've just been horrible for each other." As he spoke his anger grew and grew, "I love you, yes. I will always love you, but i've become too much of a _burden for you._ I just don't think that we're good together, I don't think that we're healthy. I just think it would be for the best that we separate."

He'd become red in the face but she couldn't see, his back was to her as he stuffed the luggage with clothes. She watched helplessly, wondering what she could say to keep him here until he was in his right state of mind. This was the first time she had really encountered him like this, she assumed he was blacked out and imagining someone was here to take him away, to keep him from being institutionalized. How can you rationalize with the irrational? "Okay, Norman, then we'll separate, but you don't have to leave."

He let out an aggressive groan, "Just stop talking to me like that! Okay?" He yelled, "There is someone, there is this physical human being that's waiting for me and we're leaving together!" As he spoke he had difficulties closing his suitcase. He slammed it around a little to get out what negative energy he could. He couldn't talk to her if she continued to think he was nothing but a mental patient.

"Norman." she stepped forward to try and help him.

He grabbed the large suitcase and swung it around, nearly hitting her, "Just stop PATRONIZING me, you're AWFUL!" He yelled in her face as he walked past her and out of the room, headed for the stairs.

 _I'm awful?_ I'm _awful?_ She thought as she marched after him, going from calm mother to angry Norma. She stopped at the top of the stairs.

"I'm leaving with Bradley."

" _Who_ is Bradley? What are you talking about?!" she screamed down at him, causing him to stop in the middle of the stairway and look up her.

He scoffed, "Honestly, Mother, there really is something wrong with you. We _talked_ about it. Bradley Martin, remember? Outside the motel! Or are you just trying to drive me even more insane?"

Norma hit a new level of fear. Was whatever wrong with him really this bad? She slowly took a few steps down and said in a low voice, "Norman, Bradley Martin is dead. She committed suicide."

"Well then how do you think she's in the motel?" Now he was the patronizing one, but he didn't care. His mother was really going to act like she didn't know? "She can't be dead" Norma got closer, making him uncomfortable. The horrified look on her face was ridiculous, maybe she was the one having blackouts after all. "You knew she was there, you can't deny that." He took a step back and turned towards the door, more than ready to bolt out of there.

There was no way she could let him leave, not like this. He was seeing dead girls for crying out loud! She grabbed on to his suitcase and tried to pull it away from him, but he kept a firm grip. "You will not leave this house!" They continued to battle it out, pulling the square item back and forth with Norma at a disadvantage, Norman had the handle. He swung his arm around and used all his weight to pull on the suitcase, sending it flying down the stairs and his mother with it. Norma's body painfully rolled down the steps and onto the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

Norman rushed down, but not to her aid. He went straight to his belongings and started gathering them up again. His mother hoisted herself up and grabbed the weight on the floor she used to prop the door open, "Norman please, stop." He had his belongings in hand and was ready to walk out the door, but she hit him in the head with the weight which sent him down to the ground in a heap. "I'm so sorry" she cried as she immediately knelt down beside him and checked his head. She stood up, knowing she had to do something to keep him here after he woke up, yet at the same time she wanted him away from her. She couldn't do this on her own. Norman kicked the suitcase out of the way and grabbed Norman's ankles, dragging him to the basement door and laying him down. she opened the door and grabbed under his arms, taking him down the steps. She gently laid him down on the ground and looked for something that could help her.

She found two pieces of cloth and used them to tie his hands and feet. As she stood and backed away she could hear him waking up. Their eyes met and part of her wanted to rush to his side and provide comfort, which she nearly did, but she stopped herself and ran upstairs to get the key, locking the basement door.

Norma grabbed her phone opened her call log. Alex at the top of the list but sand something in her gut told her to call him, but the panicking voice of the frightened girl inside her said, "Keep this in the family." She put her phone up to her and waited frantically for her older son to answer, hoping he wouldn't ignore her.

"Hello?" His voice was like music to her ears at this point.

"Dylan, come home as fast as you can. Norman has completely gone out of his mind."

"What happened?" He asked eagerly. He was already on the road and headed in the opposite direction, but he quickly made a U turn and headed home. Hearing her talk about Norman like this told him it was an emergency.

"I'm just scared of him, I need your help." She cried into the phone.

"I'll be right there." He told her as he hit the gas pedal, speeding down the road. "It'll be fine, I'll be home in ten minutes." He assured her before hanging up and tossing the phone into the seat. His heart pounded in his chest and his breathing increased. What could have happened to make Norma so scared of her precious son? He knew it had to be bad.

All he could do was think about what Norman had done to his own father, now Norma was alone with him. It wouldn't be far fetched to think he could do the same to his mother. _Their_ mother, he reminded himself.

He got the motel and jumped out of his truck, not even remembering to close the door. Dylan ran up the steps and through the first door, Norma was there to open the second, "Norma-"

"He's out of his mind!" She started walking towards the table, her son following, hanging on every word she said, "I just mentioned the institution and he went crazy, said he was leaving." She grabbed the key, "I had to stop him so I knocked him out then locked him in the basement." She handed Dylan the key.

He looked at her in surprise and took the key, wasting no time in unlocking the basement door and going down there. He only took two steps and he saw the two pieces of cloth Norma had used to bind his brother, but no bound brother was in view. "Norman?" He continued to walk down into the basement, his guard up.

Norma stayed at the top of the stairs, not wanting to see Norman like that again.

Dylan scanned the dark basement, "Norman?" But there was no sign of anyone. He walked back to the stairs, "He's not down here." He told his mother.

She rushed down the stairs and looked around, then saw the open window and ran to it, "Oh my god, he got out!"

"Where did he say he was going?" Dylan asked

"I dont know!" She turned to look at him, "He's _insane_ Dylan, he said he was leaving with Bradley Martin! She's dead!"

 _Oh, shit._ He thought to himself, Maybe Norman hadn't completely lost it this time around.

"He's completely lost touch with reality, what are we going to do?"

"Um," He gave a small chuckle, hoping she'd find some humor in this. _Yeah right, there is no humor in this._ "Bradley Martin isn't dead."

"What are you talking about?" Her tone hardened.

"It didn't really happen..."

" _What_ didn't really happen?!" She demanded.

"She was in trouble so she faked her suicide so she could disappear. I drove her to the bus station when she left town." He explained.

"So Norman could actually be running away with her?" She wasn't sure how to feel, should she be relieved Norman might not be as bad as she thought, or should she be furious with her sons for keeping this from her?

"Yeah, I mean, it's possible. But we also know he sees shit that isn't really there."

Norma stayed still. If Bradley was alive and she was really meeting Norman, he clearly wasn't in the right state of mind after that blow to the head Norma had given him. The worst case scenario is that Norman gets in the car with an unsuspecting young woman and she'd never seen alive again. "Okay, well we've got to go find him." She rushed past her son and went up the steps, trying not to let fear consume her.

Dylan followed her, "What if he comes back when we're gone?" He closed the basement door, "Should one of us stay here?"

"Maybe, but I told you i'm scared of him! I don't want to be alone with him when he's like this. I don't want _anyone_ to be alone with him like this." She had never feared Norman and now she just didn't know what to do with him. He was running around somewhere acting like someone that wasn't the real Norman. "Lets just go look for him."

He nodded in agreement, "Lets take your car, then." He started walking out the front door, "There's more room."

She grabbed her keys and walked with him out to her car, getting in and driving out of the driveway. "Where would they go?"

"I doubt they have a car, Bradley left on a bus." Dylan scanned the road, "But he couldn't be that far if he just left before I got here. Try driving up and down this road first."

She did, but only because she didn't know what else to do. After driving up and down the road in front of the motel it was clear she was wasting time. "What if he's in the woods?" She recalled the time Norman tried to kill himself. "What if Bradley got a car? Where is the quickest way out of town?"

"The bypass." He said, suddenly wishing he had taken his truck, too. They could cover more ground if there were two vehicles searching. Norma took the road to the bypass, "Maybe it's time to call Romero."

"No." She said quickly. She didn't even want to think about Alex when Norman was like this. "What would I say? 'Hey, Alex. Just called to see if you would help me look for my mentally ill, violent child. I lost him and he might be roaming around your town.' what if Norman's done something?"

Dylan sighed, "Norma, he needs to get help, remember? They'll help him wherever they put him." He ran his hands through his hair, Norma had seemed to be close with Romero, why else would he have been at dinner that night a few weeks ago? He saw the way they looked at each other as much as he tried to ignore it. The last thing he wanted was to know anything about his mother's relationship status, but at least Romero would be ten steps up from everyone else she's been with. "He'd help us and you know it. He likes you!"

"We're not talking about this, okay? We need to find Norman!" She scolded him.

"We can't do this alone!" He raised his voice, then took a breath to calm down. He knew this was hard on her, but they needed help. "You're a survivor, Norma. You do what you need to do to survive. We need someone helping us this time."

She stayed quiet. Any time Dylan had anything positive to say it surprised her, but lately things with him had been good. Dylan was her son too, she needed to start acting like it. Besides, if she was honest with herself he had a point.

"Why don't we go back to the motel for a second. I'll take my truck and look for Norman, you wait for Romero to pick you up, you can both look for Norman together. That way you can be with him if he sees Norman. You'll know exactly what he sees, when he sees it."

Norma had to admit it was probably the most effective plan, more effective than driving up and down the bypass. "I don't want you to find Norman by yourself." She had turned the car around, heading back towards the motel.

"I'll be fine. I can handle Norman, you know I can." He said quietly.

"What if he comes back when I'm at the motel waiting for Alex." Now she was just trying to nit pick and find a reason to turn down this idea.

"Then I'll wait with you." He said, agitated. "We need his help!"

"Alright!" She agreed, hating the thought of dragging Alex into this mess and wanted to die at the thought of his Sheriff Romero side getting his hands in anything Norman may have done. Unfortunately they had reached a point where this was a risk she needed to take.

* * *

 _ **I have decided that I will be continuing this story through the off season. Obviously it won't follow the show like I had originally planned, but here's hoping I do a decent job. Please review, thanks for reading.**_


	4. Acceptance

**_Disclaimer: A &E Owns the series Bates Motel and the characters, I'm just messing around with the possible direction season 4 could take for entertainment purposes only. I obviously make no money from this.  
_**

 ** _Thank you so much for all the support I've received from readers!_**

 _I told you guys i'd let you know when I was changing the rating back and it's happening a lot earlier than I thought :P sorry about that._

* * *

Dylan and Norma pulled back into the motel parking lot and got out of the car, "Call Romero." Dylan told his mother.

"I will!" She yelled at him then sat on the steps leading up to the house. Pulling out her phone she called and waited a while for an answer.

"Norma, I can't really talk right now." His voice was strained as he answered her call.

If she wasn't so desperate she would have asked him what was wrong, let him be and maybe gone to check up on him. But, she _was_ desperate. "It's an emergency. It's Norman."

"What happened?" Alex's tone changed completely, his mind went to the worst scenario. "Did he hurt you? Are you alright?"

"I- Yeah, I'm fine." She lied, then changed her mind, "Well, not exactly. He's not right, he's blacked out or something. I locked him in the basement and called Dylan, by the time he got here Norman was gone. He said he was leaving to meet Bradley Martin and they were leaving town."

"Bradley Martin?" He asked slowly. Norma just gave a small "mmhmm" as confirmation he had heard correctly. Now wasn't the time to go into Bradley's faked suicide. Alex gave a heavy sigh, "I'll be there in five minutes, alright?"

"Thank you so much, Alex." she replied greatfully. After they hung up she looked to Dylan who was sitting in his driver's seat with his door wide open, facing her.

"He already knew about Norman's blackouts?" He gave her a suspicious look.

"Bob Paris told him." She shrugged it off. "He knows Norman killed Sam, too..."

"And he hasn't slammed the cuffs on Norman, yet?" He looked at her in disbelief

"He's just trying to help me out." She muttered.

He studied her face for a moment, trying to decide if he believed her, then he shifted awkwardly, "Do you still need me to wait?"

She shook her head, "No it's fine, I'd rather have you look for Norman. We've wasted too much time already." She slid her phone back into her bag, "Please be careful." Her eyes were pleading with him, the last thing she wanted was to have both of her sons hurt.

"I will." He said quietly and closed his door, pulling out of the parking lot.

As soon as he was gone she put her face in her hands and took very slow, deep breaths, It was all she could to do to stop herself from falling apart. She shouldn't have told Norman she had been looking at places to send him, she should have just sent him. If he's unfit to make his own decisions, which he clearly is at the moment, it shouldn't matter that he's an adult. Norma heard Alex drive up and looked up at him as his car door slammed.

She slowly stood, "Thank you for coming, I really mean it." She dropped her hands to her sides and felt his hand move to the small of her back

"Did he hurt you? Here, sit back down." he tried to guide her back to the steps.

"No, we need to find him before he _does_ hurts someone!" She argued, trying to push his arm away.

He knew she was right, but he didn't care, "Where's Dylan? Is he out looking for Norman?" She nodded and he continued, "Sit back down, Norma, tell me what happened."

She met his gaze for the first time and slowly took a seat on the steps, he once again kneeled down besides her and gave her his full attention. "This morning I drove to Pine View, it's a facility for the mentally ill." She took a deep breath and continued when Alex place his hand on her knee, "I told Norman about it when I got home. He was really upset with me and locked himself in his room, then later after you left I went back up to the house and checked on him. He was in his room packing and he started talking about leaving with Bradley. I knew I had to stop him, Bradley's dead. There's no way he could be going to meet her! I tried to grab his suitcase from him and we were both pulling and I fell down the stairs." Norma felt his grip tightened around her knee, "I hit him in the head as he was about to walk out of the door and it knocked him out. That's when I dragged him to the basement. Dylan got here and we went down there, but Norman was gone. I told Dylan about Bradley and he said she faked her suicide so she could get out of town, she had been in trouble or something I guess."

"What? You mean to tell me she's still live?" He guessed it was possible, they never did find a body. "So Norman really is meeting her acting like _that?_ "

"I don't know, he could be. That's why we need to find him!" She was on the verge of tears, "He's someone completely different when he's like that, what if he hurts her?"

Alex looked conflicted, "We'll get in the car and look around, but you should get looked at if you're in pain."

She rolled her eyes, "It's not that big of a deal, I'm just sore from my body rolling down hard steps."

He shook the horrific mental image her statement had given him and helped her into the van. The long day just turned into an exceptionally long night.

"I can't thank you enough for coming." She put her seatbelt on and leaned back in the chair. "The last thing I need is one more thing Bob Paris can-"

"You don't need to worry about him anymore." He interrupted, but didn't look at her as he pulled onto the road.

"What do you mean?" Her eyes fixed on him him, "Did something happen to him?"

"I told you I'd take care of it, and I did." He didn't want to go into it, Alex knew Bob wasn't a good guy by any stretch of the imagination, but they _had_ grown up together.

Norma knew what he must have done. There was really only one way to stop someone like Paris, just like Ford and Abernathy. Alex Romero had done so much and he still continued to do even more for her. She turned her gaze to the roadside and continued to watch for Norman. The two sat silence for a while, both concentrating on finding any signs of the troubled teen.

"What about your brother? Do you think he'd help us look?"

"No." That was probably the second worst thing to talk about right now, "Despite how it may have seemed at dinner that night we were all there, we're not on good terms."

"He and Dylan are close, right? Does he know about Norman, too?" He clearly couldn't take a hint.

"Alex, I don't really like talking about Caleb, alright? We have a complicated relationship... Maybe another time" she said quietly with no intention of talking about it with him at _any_ time. He didn't need to know everything about her, least of all that.

"Right, sorry." Before he could make any other pathetic attempt at conversation Norma's phone rang.

"It's Dylan." She said quickly before answering her phone, "Did you find him?"

"Yeah, I did." Dylan's voice was shaky

"What happened?" She knew already this wasn't good. Alex pulled over and waited impatiently for some information.

"I found him by the bay, he was just leaving. He's not responding to anything I say, I finally got him into the truck." He left out the fact that Norman was completely covered in blood, "I'm bringing him back to the house."

"Was he alone? No Bradley."

Dylan took a deep breath, not responding.

"Dylan, answer me." She sounded more distressed as his silence continued.

"Mom, he's covered in blood. I found him walking away from the bay... I don't know where Bradley is." He waited for some kind of response, "Mom?" Still nothing, "Norma." _click._ She hung up.

Alex watched Norma carefully, all she did was stare at his glove box. Whatever Dylan had told her clearly hadn't been the good end to this night they had all been hoping for. "Norma, it'll be alright, whatever it is."

"Dylan's meeting us back at the motel." Was all she could say as she put her phone back in her bag.

"Look at me." He said softly, reaching over and touching her shoulder gently. She did as he said, "Whatever it is I'll do everything I can to take care of it, then we're going to get him the help he needs. He isn't going to prison, no one will ever know as long as he _gets help_. Okay?"

She nodded slowly, "He will, he'll get help." She didn't care what it took, after tonight she'd get him to Pine View. She had too.

Alex immediately turned around and sped back to the motel, arriving the same time as Dylan. Norma got out of the SUV as soon as it stopped and rushed over to Dylan's passenger side where she could see Norman sitting as still as possible. "Norma." Alex's voice stopped her in her tracks. She remembered how afraid she had been of her son when she locked him in the basement, how she started fearing for her own safety and on some level, even for her life. Whoever that was sitting in the truck, it wasn't her Norman.

Dylan got out of the driver's side, "Sheriff Romero and I can get him inside." He too was worried about her, it showed in how he addressed her on the phone. Whenever something was going wrong he called her mom.

She nodded in agreement and stepped back from the truck to give the two men space. Alex opened the door to the truck and Dylan guided Norman out of the car, thankfully Norman was able to do much of the work for him. Alex quickly took in Norman's physical state. He had blood all over his hands and shirt, even a little on his pants. He tried his best to block Norma's view with his own bloody, not wanting her to see it; Dylan appeared to be doing the same. She followed behind the three men up the steps to the house, Dylan opened the door and continued to help the Sheriff guide his brother up the stairs and into Norman's room.

Norma watched as they did so and quickly remembered something very important. She was horror stricken as she ran up the stairs behind them. Alex saw the look on her face and left Dylan to change Norman and get him into bed. He closed Norman's bedroom door, "What's wrong?"

"His suitcase. He doesn't have it!"

Alex stilled, it must be somewhere by the bay. "I'll get it."

"What if someone sees you looking around over there?" She followed him down the stairs.

Her concern for him made him more determined to get this done for her, "Then they'll see the sheriff poking around a crime scene." He walked out the front door, not realizing she had followed until he got into the SUV. He turned on the car and rolled down his window, "It'll be fine." he told her again as she approached the vehicle, her eyes revealing how devastating this whole ordeal has been for her.

"Please be careful."

"I'm the last person you need to be concerned for." He said with a sigh, his eyes moving to her lips; if only there wasn't so much going on right now. "I need to get this done, Just try to relax. Norman's here, Bob Paris is taken care of, Dylan is here if something else happens, and I'm going to take care of the suitcase."

"You'll be right back, right?" Logically she knew Dylan would protect her but Alex provided her with a sense of security she needed right now.

He hadn't planned on coming back. Not because he didn't want to, he hadn't thought that Norma would want him there. "I'll be right back."

She stood by the motel even after he had gone. She brought her hand up to her mouth and cried, this whole day had been too much for her. Norma stayed for a minute and took advantage of this moment alone before going back up to the house and checking on her sons. She cracked the door open and saw Norman tucked into bed, Dylan had moved a chair into the room and sat himself down. "Are you alright?" She asked him.

He looked over to her and nodded, "I'm going to stay in here tonight, just in case..." he trailed off, not really sure what he should expect from Norman anymore.

She nodded and glanced at Norman in his bed, her instinct was to go by his bedside and check on him, but after today she really just needed a break from all of this. "Alex went to go find his suitcase, I asked him to come back after."

"I told you he'd help us, Norma." She was kind of relieved to not to have him calling her "mom" anymore, it told her things were calming down.

"I'll be down stairs if you need anything, okay?" She said to Dylan and he nodded in response. "Are you alright?" She asked once more.

He nodded, "Yeah. Are you?"

She shrugged, "I will be."

* * *

Alex parked by the docks and walked over towards the woods. He noticed tire tracked leading into the water and his heart jumped into his throat, _shit._ He covered them up as he followed them, ending up in the woods. He looked around where the car had been parked only to see a bloody area surrounding an equally bloody rock. He knelt down and finally pulled out his flashlight (he had avoided using it in an attempt not to be seen) and shed some light on the murder weapon.

The rock had clearly been used to bash someone's head in. If it was Bradley Martin, that would make things a little easier for Alex, but he really didn't want this girl to have suffered through this terrible death, and she _would_ have suffered. His stomach turned as he picked up the rock and walked it to the bay, brain matter showed Norman had continued to use the rock even after her skull had been shattered. He walked back to the bay he tossed the rock far into the water, hoping all traces of the murder it had been used in would wash away. He went back into the woods and moved around the dirt until any sign of blood had been buried, then patted the dirt down so it looked undisturbed. A quick inspection showed that the scene looked as normal as possible except for the tire tracks, but those ones just led out to the main road and were mixed with a few other ones, no one would know the difference. He walked back to the car without the suitcase knowing it was in the sunken car, it wasn't something that needed to be worried about now, if ever.

* * *

Norma waited by the window and watched Alex drive past the motel and park his car on the side of the house. She walked out to the porch and continued to wait restlessly, when she saw him walk up empty handed she started to feel frightened once more, "You couldn't find it."

"I found it." He stepped onto the porch, "Let's talk inside."

"Just tell me." She frowned.

He frowned back and opened the door, "I _will_ tell you, can you just come inside? We need to talk."

She entered the house, leading Alex to the kitchen. She took a seat and he sat across from her, "Where is it?"

he spoke softly, "I got to the bay and saw tire tracks going into the water, I followed them into the woods where I found the rock I'm pretty sure Norman used."

"Used?" Her stomach knotted up, "You mean... on Bradley?" Her throat tightened. "What about her? Did you find her?" She asked frantically.

He looked pained as he continued, "I think she's in the car with the suitcase."

Norma's blood ran cold. She placed her hands on the dining room table in front of her, "What am I going to do?"

"You're going to get him help as soon as he wakes up. You're going to take him to that Pine View place tomorrow, if you do that i'll do the rest." He said firmly.

She nodded profusely, "I will, I will." Her voice started to shake, knowing exactly how Norman murdered the girl sent chills down her spine. How could she look at her son the same way? It was different when there was no certainty, like with Blaire Watson, but now there was no denying anything. Norman murdered an innocent girl.

Alex stood from his chair and walked over to her, smoothing her hair, "You should get some rest."

Norma swallowed hard, "You're right. We all need some rest." She stood, "Would you mind-" She stopped herself, it was a weird request.

"Do you want me to stay down here?" he gestured to the couch.

"You could stay in Dylan's room, he's with Norman. But, you don't have to stay."

He smiled softly, the smile he reserved only for her. Not like he typically smiled at anyone else in _any_ way. "I'll stay wherever you want."

After tonight it was clear where he stood. Her tone was serious as she spoke, "You've done so much for me. I don't think i've ever had someone like that in my life, I feel safe with you here. I trust you."

He couldn't help it, He leaned closer and placed a hand on her hip then used the other to cup her face.

She hadn't expected him to react that way, but she wasn't in going to turn him down. Being this close to him was the only thing that made her relax. She closed the distance between them with a heated kiss.

He moved his hand from her hip to her back and deepened the kiss, their tongues moving together. Alex couldn't control himself, his erection was starting to take over for him. He picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist, backing her up into the wall.

She tightened her legs around him and gripped the back of his neck, letting out a moan as she grinded her hips against him. He moved his mouth to her jawline and kissed down to her neck, his hand moving up her torso to cup her breast. He nipped her neck as she tried to catch her breath, slowly coming back to reality. "Alex," She said breathlessly, "We can't. not right now." God, did she want to, but she couldn't have sex with someone in the house with her kids home.

He heard her and moved his hand back to her waist and she moved her legs, planting her feet back on the floor. Alex took a few steps back to get some air before he spoke again, "I'll sleep on the couch." It was all he could muster. He wasn't sure he'd sleep if she was just a room away.

Norma felt her face heat up and she nodded. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Norma." He was still trying to catch his breath as he watched her walk up the stairs. That woman was going to be the death of him.


	5. Pine View Part 1

**_Disclaimer: A &E Owns the series Bates Motel and the characters, I'm just messing around with the possible direction season 4 could take for entertainment purposes only. I obviously make no money from this.  
_**

 ** _Thank you so much for all the support I've received from readers! I SINCERELY apologize for my lack of updates. I think I wore myself out writing when I wrote/posted the last few chapters so close together. Please forgive me, I've kind of lost my muse._**

 ** _However, because there are no new episodes out soon, I have to make sure I plan everything out and get everything right. I know I won't stop with the story, you'll just have to bare with me. None of my friends watch Bates Motel so i'm the only one that can help me keep my muse alive. Your reviews have helped with that tremendously, believe it or not. Every time I get one I find myself writing at least a little that day._**

 ** _Thanks again!_**

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Norma woke up to her body aching in places she'd forgot existed, It was a damn good thing she didn't do anything more strenuous last night. She very slowly crawled out of bed and looked in the mirror; she hadn't even gotten out of yesterday's clothes. With a heavy sigh she began to undress down to her bra and underwear, her body had several light bruises and a few dark ones; Falling down the stairs was no joke.

There was a knock on her door that was so quiet she wasn't even sure she heard. She slipped on her robe and slowly opened the door, it was Alex. She stepped aside to allow him to enter but he looked conflicted.

He didn't know if he should go in or not, but eventually he did."Norman's still asleep." He informed, "How are you feeling?

"Alright." She responded lowly, but her pain was evident in her eyes, "How are you? Did you sleep?"

"Fine," He responded just to give a response, "You should get to a doctor." He wasn't a suggestion, more of an order.

"I'm pretty sure Norman gets priority right now when it comes to medical attention." She said with a small smirk on her lips, "I'm alright until he gets taken care of."

He made a face but let it be. She was right, after all. Alex made a conscious effort to keep his eyes on her face, not wanting them to drift down the low neckline of the robe. "I have to get to work, the DEA should be clearing out pretty soon. If I could take the day off to help you guys, I would."

She shook her head but immediately regretted it when the pain in her neck started again, "You've done more than enough, this is something Dylan and I need to do." She offered a small smile, "Can I call you later?"

The corner of his mouth twitched at the question, returning the smile. "Yeah, of course you can." He moved closer to kiss her cheek, "I'll talk to you soon, alright? Let me know if you need anything."

Norma nodded and walked him out of her room, following him down to the back door. "Thank you again for staying and, ... everything."

"Don't worry about it, let me know how it goes at Pine View." He said softly before letting himself you.

she crossed her arm and slowly made herself to the kitchen, hearing soft footsteps coming down the stairs. Her breathing slowed, not sure which son she should expect. Finally, she brought herself to turn around and saw Dylan looking at the couch, "Romero leave?" He asked. She nodded. "Norman's awake." He said.

"How is he?" Concern was evident in her voice as she turned back to the counter poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Confused, he knows he blacked out." Dylan kept his eyes on her back, "He just isn't sure what happened after you fell."

Norma furrowed her brow and turned once more, "He _wasn't_ blacked out for that? When I was arguing with him, it really was him?"

He didn't know how to answer her, there was no good answer to that question, "I dunno, maybe. Can we ever be sure with him?"

She _could_ be sure and it made her sick to her stomach. Norman had been acting that way on his own, he let her roll down the stairs on his own. He hadn't blacked out until she hit him in the head and locked him in the basement. This time everything was _her_ fault...

Her silence only encouraged him to continue , "I have some money we could use for the treatment. Twenty-five grand."

"Shit, Dylan." She looked at him, "Where the hell did you get that kind of money?" She almost immediately shook her head, realizing she didn't really want to know. "You're just going to use it on Norman like that?" She wasn't discouraging it, she just wanted to make sure this was what he was what he was _actually_ going to do, not change his mind as soon as they got to Pine View.

"Yeah, I mean he needs it. It's not like i'm flushing it down the toilet." He said as he awkwardly slid his hands into his pockets, "Are you going to help him get ready?"

"Sweetie, I haven't even gotten _myself_ ready." She used it as an excuse, not feeling ready to see Norman.

Dylan looked puzzled for a moment, since when did she treat Norman the way she treated him? _Maybe when he threw her down the stairs,_ he thought to himself. "No problem, I can do it." He started walking towards the stairs then turned back, "Oh yeah, Emma's going to be out a while. She's finally getting a lung transplant, they left for Portland yesterday."

A genuine smile graced her face. Small, but genuine, "That's great, I'll have to send her some flowers."

"I, uh... I was going to do that this evening." He said slowly, not sure how his mother would react.

She merely nodded in response, not sure what to think about that. "I'm going to get ready." Norma went back upstairs, quietly and quickly passing Norman's door, not wanting to disturb him in the slightest. When she got back to her room she realized that she had been holding her breath; she had been afraid her son would poke his head out the door and spot her. Was this going to be her life now? Would fearing for her safety around Norman whenever he was in the house be the new normal in the Bates home?

Norma tried to shake the thought out of her head. Surely it would get better, he was getting help. "What happened last night will never happen again." she said aloud as she got dressed and brushed her teeth. As she quickly reapplied her makeup she heard light rustling in the room next door, the familiar sound of Norman getting ready. She heard his drawers close and her mind went back to Norman packing his things as he got ready to meet Bradley. She stopped everything she was doing, finally coming to terms with the fact that _her_ Norman was doing that, not the Norman he became during his blackouts. _Her_ Norman had been the one that had startled her when he started yelling. This is who he was, he wasn't the little boy she tried so hard to hold on to through these hard years in her life.

She had to let that little boy go. The harsh reality was that Norman had been right last night, they needed to separate. Obviously taking the step to admit him to Pine View was the right thing to do, without a doubt. It was _finally_ processing completely in her mind. She wiped the tears that had made their way down her face and continued getting ready. ONce finished she went downstairs. Norman and Dylan were sitting silently in the living room.

She caught sight of her youngest son; he looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot from crying, his hands still tinted a light shade of red from the blood in contrast to his colorless face, and his eyes glassy.

Norman kept his eyes glued on his brother's shoes as he heard the footsteps of his mother getting closer. he couldn't bring himself to look at her after when he remembered doing, let alone after what he assumed he did. Dylan hadn't said what happened to Bradley when he had asked, but the look at the stains on his hands told him everything he needed to know. No one could question it, there were no maybes or misinterpretation. He _was_ a murderer, they all knew it.

"Don't just sit there, get in the car." Norma said to her sons. She grabbed her keys and purse and headed out the door, both of them following. She locked the door and went down to the car with the boys, not saying a word as they all got in and she drove them out of the motel lot; Dylan in front, Norman in back by himself. This was one of those times when Norma played off her fear as anger, creating a sharp silence that would drive anyone more insane than they already were.

"Mother." Norman's voice was hoarse and almost unrecognisable, "I'm sorry." He hadn't meant to hurt her, he never wanted to do that. However, she hurt him when she pretended not to know Bradley was staying at the hotel. It was no excuse, but it certainly didn't help matters.

She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and clenched her jaw. The instinct to brush everything he had done off and sweep it under the rug was strong. "You should be." It was all she could say to keep from coddling him like the mother in her wanted to do. The fear of him had melted away the second she saw him sitting on the couch. He was so broken and so afraid, but she had to do things differently. Babying him is what got them into this mess.

Dylan sunk back in his chair, his heart going out to both of them. For years that had been Norma's way to respond to _him._ It stung hearing those words in that tone, but now that it wasn't directed at him he understood. Norma was hurt too and she didn't know how to handle it or what to do to make things better.

The drive was long and miserable for all parties involved, Norman was actually relieved when the sign reading "Pine View Medical Center" came into view. At this moment in time he was willing to comply with whatever needed to be done to bring back memory of what happened the previous night and make sure he could stop it from ever happening again.

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 _ **This chapter is way shorter than I normally like to post, but I've been getting a lot of people asking if I'll continue and wanted an update so I figured I could just post what I have. The next chapter will have much more Normero, trust me. I'm slowly getting my muse back, I just have to hang on to it. Feel free to follow me on twitter, RPAuthor.**_


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